Usage of wireless communication devices in today's society is increasing daily. The increase is due in large part to the increased functionality of wireless communication devices, wireless device size reduction, and also society's ever increasing desire to stay connected. Wireless devices and networks also continue to utilize improved bandwidth technologies which both provide increased wireless communication abilities further leading to increased acceptance by society. While wireless devices will no doubt continue to be increasingly adopted by society, users will likely continue to encounter power source challenges with wireless devices since wireless devices must necessarily use a mobility enabled power source, such as a battery pack or rechargeable battery pack, for wireless operation.
Current wireless devices, including radio frequency (RF) wireless devices, address power supply issues in various manners. For example, current design techniques for power minimization in RF circuits include bias current reuse, controlled positive feedback, high impedance interfaces, and sub-threshold biasing. Another technique is to modulate data rate based on changing communication environments. All of these techniques, however, are designed to operate at all times under pre-set worst-case wireless channel operating conditions. Usually, operating in a worst-case design assumption ensures that wireless devices enable adequate wireless communication no matter what conditions of wireless channels may be present. But such operation, at times, consumes power resources in an inefficient manner.
Accordingly, there exists a need for wireless devices, methods, and systems with improved power conservation features. Indeed, there is a need for transmitters, receivers, and transceivers with improved signal processing components that utilize power conservation techniques. It is to the provision of such low-power wireless communication devices, methods, and systems that the various embodiments of the present invention are directed.